The agency is a legally separate corporate instrumentality of the D.C. government, which issues tax-exempt bonds. The proceeds from these bonds are used to assist in financing affordable homeownership and rental housing to low- and moderate-income District residents.

BOARD OF APPEALS AND REVIEW

The Committee recommends two positions and $136,000 for the Board of Appeals and Review. The amount recommended is the same as the request and the House allowance, and represents an increase of $84,000 and one position above the fiscal year 1989 appropriation.

The Board is the administrative agency that provides the final remedy for aggrieved citizens appealing decisions resulting from citations for housing code violations on multiple unit buildings and residential rental property issued by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.

BOARD OF EQUALIZATION AND REVIEW

The Committee recommends $164,000 and two positions for the Board of Equalization and Review. This is the same as the amount requested in the budget and the House allowance.

The Board is responsible for ensuring that real property in the District is assessed at 100 percent of its estimated market value and that the assessments are in equalization.

DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS

The Committee recommends $33,084,000 and 808 positions for the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. The amounts recommended are the same as the budget request and the House allowance, and represents a decrease of $4,450,000 and 89 positions below the fiscal year 1989 appropriated amounts.

The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs is the major regulatory agency in the District. It is charged with regulating business activities, land and building use, occupational and professional conduct and standards, rental housing and condominiums, health and social services care facilities. The reductions have been made maintaining the following program priorities: (1) public health and safety programs as building, housing, and service facility inspections; (2) licensing and revenue generating programs as occupational and professional licensing, insurance and civil infractions; (3) direct support programs as consumer complaint services and enforcement services; and (4) indirect support programs such as administrative support.

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

The Committee recommends 83 positions and $4,791,000 for the Public Service Commission. These amounts are the same as the budget request and the House allowance, and four positions and $431,000 above the fiscal year 1989 allowance. The Commission has ratemaking and other regulatory authority over the electric, gas,

and telephone companies, and all security transactions taking place in the District of Columbia.

OFFICE OF THE PEOPLE'S COUNSEL

The Office of the People's Counsel acts as an advocate on behalf of District consumers of natural gas, electric, telephone, and taxi services in all matters affecting rates or service. The Committee recommends the full budget request and House allowance in fiscal year 1990 of $2,022,000 and 23 positions for the office. The recommendation represents an increase of $154,000 and one position above the fiscal year 1989 allowance.

PUBLIC SAFETY AND JUSTICE

The Committee recommends a total of $861,191,000 in fiscal year 1990 for the public safety and justice activities funded in this appropriation.

A comparative summary by agency follows:

METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT

The Committee recommends $255,560,000 and 6,102 positions for the Metropolitan Police Department for fiscal year 1990. This is $48,403,000 above the current year and $23,149,000 and 700 positions above the House bill.

The recommendation includes funds to hire an additional 1,000 police officers and 100 new cadet positions. Of the additional police officer positions, 300 were contained in the District's budget request, and the other 700 are authorized by H.R. 1502, the District of Columbia Police Authorization and Expansion Act of 1989, as re

ported by the Committee on Governmental Affairs, which also authorizes $23,149,000 for the fiscal year 1990 cost of the officers. Of this amount, $17,576,000 is for salaries, $1,757,000 for benefits, $1,410,000 for uniforms and equipment, and $2,406,000 for other support materials.

These officers will assist the Metropolitan Police in its efforts to stem the increase in drug-related crime in the city. Resources will be used to close down open-air drug markets and increase police visibility enough to be a substantial deterrent to reopening these markets. The Committee recognizes that it will not be possible for the District to hire 700 officers early enough in the fiscal year to require the use of all of the funds provided for that purpose. Therefore, the Committee would consider reprogramming requests for increased recruitment efforts and other measures designed to deal with the current emergency.

The Metropolitan Police Department estimates that during fiscal year 1990 there will be more than 1,400,000 emergency calls for police service and more than 13,600 narcotics arrests.

The Metropolitan Police Department is the primary law enforce ment agency of the District of Columbia. The department's overall mission is to ensure public safety through the protection of life and property.

FIRE DEPARTMENT

The Committee recommends $99,618,000 and 2,032 positions for the Fire Department in fiscal year 1990. This is the same as the budget request and the House bill, and an increase of $13,130,000 above fiscal year 1989.

The Fire Department operates 33 engine companies, 17 aerial ladder companies, 26 ambulances, 4 rescue squads, 1 fire boat, and 1 HAZ MAT company, to respond to hazardous materials incidents. The recommended amount includes funds to enhance emergency ambulance services, including a paramedic training program to train EMT's to become paramedics and evaluation of advanced life support skills of emergency medical technicians.

The Fire Department is responsible for providing fire prevention, firefighting, and emergency ambulance services throughout the District of Columbia.

POLICE AND FIRE RETIREMENT SYSTEM

The Committee recommends $132,100,000 for the police and fire retirement system. This is the same as the House bill and $11,500,000 above the fiscal year 1989 level. This amount includes $118,100,000 in net pay-as-you-go payments; $11,800,000 in inflation/amortization; and $2,200,000 attributable to new benefits changes.

The police and fire retirement system represents the District's contribution to the District of Columbia police and fire retirement fund as required by section 142 of the D.C. Retirement Act, Public Law 96-122. After its transfer to the retirement fund, the appropriation provides annuity payments to metropolitan police officers and firefighters retired under the disability and service retirement program.

JUDGES RETIREMENT SYSTEM

The Committee recommends $3,200,000 for the judges retirement fund. This is the same as the House bill and $600,000 above the fiscal year 1989 level.

The judge retirement system represents the District's contribution to the D.C. judges retirement fund, as required by section 142 of the D.C. Retirement Reform Act, Public Law 96-122. After its transfer to the retirement fund, the appropriation provides annuity payments to Superior Court and Court of Appeals judges retired under the disability and service retirement program.

COURT OF APPEALS

The Committee recommends $4,996,000 and 86 positions for the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia. This is $289,000 above the budget request and the House bill, and $598,000 and five positions above the fiscal year 1989 level. The recommended increase will enable the Court of Appeals to more effectively and efficiently handle the increased caseload as a result of the additional police and number of drug cases prosecuted.

The Court of Appeals is the highest court for the District of Columbia and reviews all civil and criminal appeals from the Superior Court, appeals from the administrative agencies of the District, disciplinary actions of the Board of Professional Responsibility, as well as a number of special proceedings.

SUPERIOR COURT

The Committee recommends $64,939,000 and 1,284 positions. This amount is a net increase of $10,293,000 over the fiscal year 1989 level and 111 in the number of positions.

The Committee recommends an increase of eight associate judges and related staff for the Superior Court. Chief Judge Fred Ugast has testified that, because of the current and projected caseload resulting from the additional police officers, the court could use a minimum of 8 new judges; with the adding of the 700 police the courts anticipate 7,000 additional case filings per year. These judges will permit a like number of judges to be assigned to the Criminal Division, increasing the total number assigned to that division to more than 30 of the 58 total judges on the court. As with the funds appropriated for the Metropolitan Police, the Committee recognizes that these judges will not be nominated or confirmed by the start of the fiscal year, so the Committee has recommended that the funds remain available until expended so that they can be used for their intended purpose and possibly reduce the requirement in fiscal year 1991. In addition, the Committee would consider a reprogramming request, and intends that the court explore various options, to meet the current violent crime caseload emergency.

The recommended judges will permit Judge Ugast to address the critical emergency arising from increasing numbers of violent crime cases by transferring judges and staff from the Civil and Family Divisions to handle added load of violent crime cases. This is only a short-term solution and cannot be carried on for more

than 6 to 9 months due to the serious additional backlog that would occur in the Civil and Family Divisions.

The Committee recommendation is a conservative response to the actual need of the Superior Court for judicial manpower, and relates strictly to the increase of 700 police officers. Judge Ugast testified that the current needs of the court for additional judicial manpower are as follows:

The Superior Court is the District's unified court of general jurisdiction. It is the trial court with original jurisdiction over all criminal, civil, tax, and probate cases, as provided for in title II of the D.C. Code, "Organization and Jurisdiction of the Courts."

D.C. COURT SYSTEM

The Committee recommends $22,125,000 and 88 positions for the D.C. Court system for fiscal year 1990. This is $1,947,000 above the House bill.

The Committee recommendation includes $1,500,000 for enhanced courthouse security. Security is currently provided by the Department of Administrative Services of the District government. When the D.C. main courthouse opened in 1978 there were 45 security officers assigned to the D.C. Courts' complex. In 1982 a District government review of the needs for courthouse security concluded that 32 to 33, at a minimum, security people were required. According to testimony by court officials, fewer than 30 are currently assigned to courthouse security.

Court officials stated that altercations in the hallways are more and more frequent as a result of increased drug-related violent crime cases coming to the courthouse. According to a 1988 report by a U.S. Marshal Service security expert:

The record high per capita murder rate in the District of Columbia, the existence of various drug rings, and the apparent inability of the District of Columbia government to upgrade security in the Superior Court complex places the judiciary at risk in this high-threat environment. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, located across the street from the Superior Court, has undergone a significant security upgrade.

The report recommended a program that utilizes contract guards who are trained, certified, deputized, and supervised by the U.S. Marshal Service. The estimated annual cost of this security program is $1,500,000. The Committee has recommended that this amount be included, and directs that the courts and District include this amount in the budget base for the court system in future years.

Also included is $318,000 and eight positions being transferred from the Superior Court budget. The District Council approved the transfer of these funds and related court reporter positions, howev